Vitis candicans (cont.) 

covered thinly with whitish cobwebby hairs drawn along the surface which become 
flocculent in maturity and shed late in the season, leaving the upper face dark 
green, slightly wrinkled, similar to but less than in ¥. labrusca. Leaves on 
ground shoots of old roots always beautifully palmately 5 to 7, rarely 9 lobed; 
in seedlings 3 to 5 lobed till the third year, which is strikingly different 
from all other species, in which the leeves are almost entire on young plants. 
Clusters fFertile,- small, 2 to 3" long and nearly ecually forkeds peduncle 
short and weak; rachis hairy; pedicels long; staminate,- much larger, compound. 
Flowers: Fertile,- petals before opening, - the flower bud - erimsony stamens 
very short, reflexed and curved laterally; pistil very.large; ovary globose; 
style thick and very short, causing the large white hemispherical stigma to appear 
nearly sessile; sterile,— flower—bud same as in fertile but smaller, stamens medium 
strotig, with large anther and abundant pollen. | 
Berries: 5 to 12 in cluster, large to very large, globular, black, very rarely 
red and stili more rarely white; bloom none; skin thick, tough, possessed of a 
firey pungency, which renders fruit inedible, unless carefully removed; pulp tough, 
of a pleasant or rather insipid taste; between skin and pulp is a jelly-like 
juice sometimes red, sometimes transparent. fFruitbersistent till very late, rarely 
if ever attacked by black rot. Berry separates from the pedicel with difficulty, 
the pedicel always drawing quite a core, white or crimson, with it from the berry. 
Seeds: 2 to 4 of medium size, 1/5" to 1/4" long by 1/6" to 1/5" broad, ovoid 
when only one in the berry, rounded, not lobed, with a small well defined beak; 
color of unparched coffee withk brownish tinge; raphe very small, obscure or in- 
visible, nearly imbedded in the ventral ridge; chalaza not very prominent, flat 
on top, ovate or elliptical, ccute at insertion of raphe, center of chalagza rather 
lower than middle of seed, surrounded by a dictinct groove which extends only 
to top of seed, depressions nearly straight, wide apart, much lighter in color 
than body of seed. 
Plantlet: Caulicle and plumule crimson; seed leaves small, petiole 4%; blade 
generally cupping upward around margin, just the reverse to full grown leaves on 
old vines color dark green. 
It ranges from the Arkansas River in Oklahoma southward in Western Arkansas, 
all Northern Texas as far northward as Clay County, southward thg@ough all Texas, 
east of the 100th meridian, and in Western Louisiana, and extends across the 
Rio Grande into Mexico, but so far have been unable to trace it into New Mexico, 
wheres it has been reported by some botanisfs. These were probably the species 
I have described as V. Doaniana. No specimens of it have been received from 
east of the Mississippi River, except in two instances, from the vicinity of 
Manatee, Florida, collected by J. H. Simpson. Dr. Engelmann reported it in 
Florida and mentioned nothing of ¥. coriacea there, but after the most diligent 
search, collection of specimens from many places and growing of seedlings of 
what was supposed to be there, only V. coriacea , which might be mistaken for it, 
gave in the instances named above, was found. It would thus appser that 
Engelmann was correct in reporting in in Florida, though very rare there. It is 
found of bmmense size along the overflowed lands of the rivers, along sides and | 
tops of the limy, cretaceous hills of Southwestern Texas, where it luxuriates, 
end along the wooded ravines of the black praries of Texas. It prefers a soil | 
strong in lime, although it thrives in almost any soil. I have seen it with | 


